¶1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ¶2 Interview - Erik Løvendahl Sørenesen ¶1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ¶2R: Before we start this interview, I'd like you to write some short text about yourself. If you feel like it, you can write your "Computer-History" aswell. ¶1E: ¶3? ¶2R: What hardware have you got? ¶1E: I have got an Amiga 2000 B with Kickstart 1.2/1.3/2.0, 145 MB HD and 8 MB Ram. Further on I have a 1081 Monitor, (The good old one, with better resolution than the new 1084), a Star Laserprinter LP 4 with Postscript modul and 2 MB RAM, a Robtics HST modem V42 38.400 Baud, a Sharp Z60 3 colour copymachine, an ordinary group 3 fax (9600 Baud) and at last a brand new 386/33 PC . So one can say, that our HQ here in Denmark looks like a little company, which it also is, though we are a non-profit organisation. ¶2R: You have been working with viruses/viruskillers a very long time, when and why did you start with it? ¶1E: It all started about 5 years ago, when I got my first Amiga virus. I stored it and also the following viruses I got, so after a time I had got a big collection. Many times with help from computer friends, yes some of them was drowning in viruses ,so it was very easy to get hold on viruses then. In the beginning, I stored the viruses to controll if the viruskillers could kill the viruses, but after a while I had so many viruses that I began to send them to programmers who made good viruskillers. This is how Safe Hex International really started. ¶2R: Have you ever programmed/made a virus yourself? ¶1E: What.......did you say ?, do you think I am STUPID !!! No, it is after my oppinion only potensforstyrrede (This is Danish, read stupid..-Ed) young kids, who does such things. Most of them don't know, that if they get caught, they can get 4-5 years in prison. I find it hard to believe, that they don't realize, how big troubles they make, when they make such viruses. Today everybody talk about saving our biological environment, but what about the computer-environment? Many generations will suffer from the growing number of viruses, that's why computer virus must be stopped, if not we will get the same serious problems, that we have with pollution of our biological environment. It can develop into a catastrophe where one for example can't use a modem or swap a couple of programmes with a friend. ¶2R: You are the main founder of the "Safe Hex" organisation. How has the developing of "Safe-Hex" been after you started it? ¶1E: Today we have about ca. 250 so called members, it means peoples, who regular works for us and keep in touch with us. We have not got any member-list or something. When one send us a new virus, send an article, which has been cut out from a magazine, or upload our viruskiller to some BBS's, one work for us. But there are also many, who has not got the time for this work, they donate maybe 50$ to our virus-fond, which is a reward we have promised for the name and address of a virus programmer. Today we have got 3000$ in this reward-fond. ¶2R: Do you think "Safe-Hex" will be able to stop all the virus problems in the future? ¶1E: We will never be able to stop people from making viruses, but I hope that we can stop most of them by scaring them with our reward, which is on their head, and leave the rest of the work to the police. ¶2R: "Safe-Hex" will give a $1000 award to anyone who can give name and address of a virus programmer. Have you caught any virus-programmers so far? ¶1E: No, not yet, but I don't care, it is the preventive effect we speculate in. We have got a few applications about some guys who have made a virus for a friend or something. To go to the police, we have got to have good evidences, which means that there should preferably, be more than one who know the virus programmer, the virusen must be wellknown, and be a real virus. There are for example made some pseudo viruses like the SystemZ and HCS viruses, these viruses are more a kind of viruskillers so in cases like this, we can't use our informations to anything. ¶2R: You have also been complaining a about that computer magazines give false information about viruses to beginners. Can you give any concrete examples on this? ¶1E: Yes, unfortunately all the American computer magazines is very retarded when it comes to information about virus and viruskillers. I mean that in one way they are just as guilty for all the viruses we have today, as the virus programmers, when they for example still recommend Virusx as the best viruskiller, (it is 2 years old and must be characterized as a security-risk, if it is used today, (it knows about 25 viruses). ¶2R: What is you opinion about swappers/modemtraders/Boards? ¶1E: Yes, what shall I mean? If we didn't have the pirates and the BBS's, I don't think it would have been sold a fraction of the number of computers sold today. So we have much to thank them for, but I hope that one buy some programmes oneselves now and then. The softwarehouses should also survive, so it is in every ones interest that one respect eachother a bit more than what is the case today. It can't work to chase the pirates like the softwarehouses do. The pirates, (I don't like this word, it doesn't fit at all.), has done a good job with getting the computer sold as much as it has. I doubt that it was sold more than 2-3 %, if one had to pay $2.500- $3.500 for just a few programmes. In the music-industry one can easily live with people copying records and tapes from the radio or borrow a record of some friends. I think the software-houses are over-reacting. ¶2R: When do you get really pissed? ¶1E: Hyklere! (Danish -Ed) ¶2R: Which person do you admire most ? Why ? ¶1E: My wife,because she is so patient with me, when I work day and night in front of my computer. ¶2R: What is the most negative thing about yourself? ¶1E: I am too fatt 90 kg/176 cm ¶2R: Is there something you can't live without? ¶1E: Cigaretts ¶2R: What did you do yesterday? ¶1E: I was writting about 15 letters to some people in our virus group. ¶2R: Describe a perfect evening: ¶1E: Vine, wimmen, candellight, and the final.... ¶2R: Let's go for some favorites... What is you favorite.. ¶1Program: Cygenus Ed Professional ¶2Virus (?): I hate them! ¶1Programmer: Peter Stuer, who have made the viruskiller BootX ¶2Hardware: My harddisk and my modem. ¶1Music: Michael Jackson ¶2Book: "Amiga 500 for brugere", which is a new, easy-understanding book in Danish for all Amiga users, who want more than to play Pacman. ¶1Food: Hamburger with vegetables and pomesfrites ¶2Drink: Coca Cola ¶1Deodorant: "Mens Wonder", it works perfectly on wimmen ¶2Amiga Musican: Are there any good ? (Yes ! Are you deaf or something ? -Ed) ¶1Amiga Graphican: I am almost going to answer the same here !; but I got impressed by Budbrains Megademo nr 1, it is just fantasic well made. (Is it? How many demos have you seen ?-Ed) ¶2R: Are you involved in politics? What kind of politics seems nice to you? ¶1E: No, I am cured long time ago. ¶2R: Now I'll write down some words, and you just write what first comes to your mind. ¶1Lamer: @$.../***;...(¾/... føg for pokker (Danish, again.... -Ed) ¶2Crime: Virus ¶1Sex: I love it! ¶2Drugs: Cigaretter ¶1Rock 'n' Roll: Noise ! ¶2Death: Live ¶1Green umbrellas: Rain ¶2Safe ASCII: Txt. ¶1The End: The start ¶2R: Well, I guess that's all. So now you are able to write anything you'd like to... ¶1E:(No answer..) ¶3(¶1I had to translate the answers from Danish into English, so it might seem a bit strange....¶3)